It is with great pleasure that we share with you, the parents and advocates of the children in your community, a tremendous
THANK YOU and, in radKIDS tradition, a "
BIG STICKA" for what you are doing for your children and the families in your neighborhoods.

As we move through April: National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and head into May: National Missing Children's Month, we cannot think of a better time to
thank you for what you have done and continue to do for your children.

The gift of empowering your children with their own personal boundaries as created and defined through a combination of their radKIDS education, and your permission and support may be the greatest gift you can give your children for the world we live in today. This foundational gift does not limit a child's potential, but in fact, is the foundation to
opportunities and hope in lieu of fear and victimization. For that we not only
want to thank you, we sincerely feel we
need to thank you.

April and May are Important Months for Children's Safety

This month and next, the media will most likely focus on the recognition, fear, and the realities of child abuse and neglect in our culture. This will most likely include the recognition of all the children we have lost and continue to loose through violence and victimization. The battle continues for the children who are missing due to abduction, run from or live with sexual assault in their lives, or are bullied so frequently that they reach a point of desperation and despair that they consider or commit suicide, (many before the age of 12). Then we have the quiet awakening of a not so new threat on the block, the children who are taken, manipulated, tortured and controlled for the purpose of Human Trafficking. We will hear about the loss, victimization, and maybe some hope, or a call to action
, but most often they will be presented without a plan or strategy for change. These months are hard on many of us just to hear and even try to comprehend "the why" for this evil within our society?

The media will put the focus on "Awareness." We will hear "Did you know?" and "What a Shame" campaigns with blue ribbons and pin wheels for those who have been victimized and for those we have lost, instead of shining a light and focus on, "What We Can Do" to create change. These are all important and valuable things to recognize and especially to remember and honor those who were victimized in the past, but we can and should do more. We can make it better, we can create change and many of you have and continue to each day.

Many of us (like you) choose to take action to empower and educate our children or even take this opportunity of awareness as a call to action, and for that we are thankful.

So instead of complaining about the problem, I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you radKIDS parents, grandparents, and radKIDS families for creating the opportunity for your child to attend a local radKIDS Personal Empowerment developmental education class in your community. Instead of following the masses who may take notice one or two months a year, it is the people like you that are taking power and opportunity into your hands and sharing it with your loved ones.

A THANK YOU to our Instructors

As our instructors also receive this newsletter, I would be remiss if I did not
THANK YOU as well. Thanks to you, creating the opportunities in your community, you are creating change.
J Together with the children and families you serve we are not just looking at a problem, you all are making a difference. Each child you teach is given the permission and the opportunity to establish their own boundaries of safety based on their self-value, self-worth and their personal understanding that "No one has the right to hurt them" and "if anyone tries they can stop them" and along with what may be
most important, understanding that, "it is not their fault if someone hurts them, sothey can tell." These words became gifts when shared and reinforced through their radKIDS training and the nurturing of their educators and most importantly their families.

As I have said many times in speaking across the nation,

Education is the only thing that can transfer fear and turn it into power. Your commitment to help educate your child in radKIDS and empower them with their own personal boundaries is the first step in creating the world we want to live in and taking the power away from those who wish to hurt others. This is the gift you have shared with your child, your community and the gift that can last a lifetime. So thank you again for taking action instead of acknowledging, pretending or even worse denying a reality that is in our world today. You are the leaders and creators of a better future and for that we are honored that you are all members of our radKIDS family.

As I close this letter of thanks, I do have a request for each of you and the tens of thousands who get this newsletter from us. I ask you to

Continue to empower your children and spend some time reviewing the radKIDS family manual with a focus on asking your children about their 3 rules and their radKIDS plan.

Review the materials on the radKIDS parental card we have included in this newsletter. We ask that you do this in support of what you have done but also in recognition to those who have not had the opportunity to create and define their own boundaries.

Create an opportunity toshare a "What we CAN do" conversation with 3 people you knowover the next two months. We can do this together in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Missing Children's Month.

Together we can empower our children, friends and colleagues with the opportunity to establish boundaries and shift the power away from anyone who would want and try to hurt our children. You can share in conversation, or through email, (the parental card) or even a link to our webpage (
www.radKIDS.org) or Facebook page
"RadKIDS-Children's Safety Education." We hope you will share opportunity and hope with a friend, neighbor, business colleague, church or faith based neighbor, or other family member. You can also reach out and contact your local radKIDS instructor and encourage them to run another class that you and your child can attend as a review, refresher and invite some friends. Together we can shift the focus of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month and Missing Children's Month to breaking the cycle of violence instead of merely acknowledging it with a month. You have done that and for that we are thankful and supportive, and that is why I know we can do more.

As always, we thank you for all you continue to do for your children and your community. If radKIDS or I can be of any other help or support please let us know. We are honored and grateful that you are and continue to be part of the radKIDS family and the people who make a difference.